Speaker Nabih Berri requested on Thursday that Cyprus support the proposal that the United Nations demarcate Lebanon’s maritime border and exclusive economic zone.

He said: “We appreciate Cyprus’ understanding of our fears that Israel may exploit its agreements with Cyprus in order to violate Lebanon’s petroleum wealth and increase its violations of the country’s sovereignty.”

The cabinet is expected to tackle during its session next week a decree set to organize the country’s natural resources sector, and swiftly appoint the members of the committee tasked with administrating the oil sector.

“For the first time in history we have studies that estimate the quantities (of oil wealth in our offshores), and they are huge… They are enough to secure the future of the coming generations,” Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told As Safir newspaper on Thursday.

Al-Mustaqbal MPs Jamal al-Jarrah and Ghazi Youssef will propose an urgent draft-law to parliament on Thursday in an attempt to find a comprehensive solution to the extra-budgetary spending made by different governments since 2006 and end any excuse to reject their proposal.

An Nahar daily said that the lawmakers will push for a parliamentary approval of the $22 billion spending made by the governments of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri and the current cabinet of Premier Najib Miqati.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday said Lebanon had concerns Israel might deny it “its right to more than 850 nautical square kilometers” in maritime resources, stressing that “the problem is not between Lebanon and Cyprus, but rather between Lebanon and Israel.”

During a joint press conference with his Cypriot counterpart Yiannakis Omirou in Cyprus, where he arrived Wednesday on an official visit, Berri said “the U.N. has recently become convinced that it has to intervene in order to resolve this issue,” referring to the disputed oil and gas resources.

Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed on Wednesday a report that he is exerting efforts to make Beirut a permanent base for dialogue among religions and different confessions.

In remarks to the new administrative authority of Arab newspaper reporters, Berri said he began working on his idea through contacts with several officials in the past few months.

Speaker Nabih Berri arrived in Cyprus on Wednesday to follow up discussions on demarcating the maritime border, As Safir newspaper reported.

Berri kicked off the visit by meeting with President Demetris Christofias.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc is gearing up to propose an urgent draft law that would call for a comprehensive settlement to the billions of dollars of extra-budgetary spending made since 2006, al-Liwaa daily reported Wednesday.

It said the opposition bloc that is part of the March 14 coalition will propose the draft law in an effort to ward off attempts by the March 8 parliamentary majority of clinching a vote on a $5.9 billion bill on spending made by Premier Najib Miqati’s cabinet in 2011.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Tuesday that a controversial extra-budgetary spending would be resolved through the adoption of a $5.9 billion spending bill first to pave way for a solution to $11 billion spent between 2006 and 2009.

In remarks to As Safir daily, Berri said that parliament should “first legalize the $5.9 billion, which the opposition March 14 forces had initially agreed to, so that the $11 billion problem could be resolved.”

A meeting chaired by Speaker Nabih Berri of parliament’s bureau and heads and rapporteurs of parliamentary committees on Monday will test his ability to resolve the dispute between the March 8 and 14 forces on extra-budgetary spending.

A parliamentary source told al-Liwaa daily that discussions will focus on the agenda of the March 5 parliamentary session and the possibility to launch the work of a joint legislative-ministerial committee to resolve the controversial spending.

Speaker Nabih Berri is preparing for a conference set to gather the religious leaders of different sects in Lebanon and the region to stress the importance of dialogue among all religions.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Monday, the conference will tackle the issue of reducing emigration due to confessional causes.